Wichita eagle., 1887-10-22
JULES VERNE At HOME
THE BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER AS
A WRITER OF ADVENTURE.

He Owes a Great Deal to Poe and to
Cooperation lie Writes Story-A
Terror to the Proof Reader-His New
Novel.
Jules Verne was born at Nantes. i'm 1928
TO be precise, Feb. 3 He wears lightly his
50 years OF life His hair and beard are
white, but his. face is Young, unfurrowed,
and there is an expression of frankness in it
and in his clear. calm blue eyes. that always
won heart Being Breton, he was born
with profound admiration for the sea: at
IL he had read Robinson Crusoe," and had
begun TO think Of writing stories of ship
wrecks
He studied law, was graduated at the law
school, went into the stock exchange not as
one of the venerable institution crested by
an ordinance of Philippe lie Bel, but behind
the scenes, in it but not of it, like the gulf
stream in the ocean.
1t had flashed through his mind that he
might so to California and seek for gold
NINE and find it, and then devote himself to
literature; but as he was writing constantly,
the Gymnase playhouse found something to
accept in his mass of manuscripts. 1t was a
comedy in verse, in one act, Les Pailles
Rompues,' and it had been written with
Alexandra Dumas fills as a co-laborer. Dumas
is his friend. Mark this. for Dumas is not a
prodigal of his friendship, and is a perfect
miser at praising the work of others lhave
heard him say of Jules Verne that if he were
a foreigner there would be nothing too good
for him in France. Jules Verne says that he
has been fortunate in the friendship Of
T1,,r,.S md or as1ff al -bN ,loS
him. kept him in line, prevented him from
making excursions in the domain of Balzac,
ever since the day OF his first novel, Five
Weeks in a Balloon" made him able to live
by his pen. That was in 1862 Since then
he has written fifty volumes. two every year.
SOURCES OF INSPIRATION.
Had he caught his inspiration from Edgar
Poe, whose influence in the vivid TRANSACTIONS
of Bandelaire. has been great OH French men
Of letters. Were the impressions of the
brothers d. Poncourt in 1886 similar to his
owni NJ Verne said yes, that he owed much
20 Edgar Poe and much to Fenimore Cooper,
of whom he is an ardent admirer.
His cbiecr was 10 write books that the
young could read with profit. He had no
professions TO heinS a savant. man Of
science He read incesssntlv Whenever he
WAS in doubt he went to town to one who
knew Joseph Bertrand, of the institute. had
been his adviser on many occasions He
would make errors perhaps, but not very
grave ones. asked him if his stories were
not worked backward, like Gobelin tapestry.
He said that he never commenced to write q
story without knowing how il was going to
end lie writes the plot, then studies the de-
tails The results of his studies are in notes
of one word in columns, on sheets of paper,
letter size. These words refer to books in his
library or to other notes Of ideas or facts.
When be has become familiar with his notes
he writes the story. His manuscript is re-
markahlv neat. on the left of letter page,
leaving wide margin at the right for the
dates "Ah. the datesi they give me more
trouble than you can imagine And the
names: His proof reading costs a good deal
of money 10 the editor, he says. He sends the
oricinai manuscript to the printer without an
pras,,re. and there are eight successive proofs
10 be corrected by him. He is fastidious in
The extreme with regard to style; that has to
be absolutely faultless-